Unlikely Pair
by adorkablyme
Summary: AU  Kotetsu Kaburagi is an under-appreciated detective whose pace is about to be disrupted in a major way by an up-and-coming young hot-shot, Barnaby Brooks Jr.  Will be Kotetsu x Barnaby.  Indefinite Hiatus
1. Chapter 1

Unlikely Pair

"Ah… I don't know how much longer I can survive on desk duty," the detective griped, "I should be out on the street solving crimes and catching criminals!"

"You've got no one to blame but yourself, Kotetsu. You really pissed the chief off this time AND lost another partner," came the patronizing reply.

"Aww c'mon Antonio! I caught the guy didn't I? Plus, it's the Chief's fault for always assigning me rookie partners," the bearded man sulked.

"You drove your car through a fence! That poor kid was traumatized. And of course he keeps assigning you rookies! Everyone else around here already knows you and your bad habits. You're a good guy, Kotetsu, but honestly you're like a wild tiger out hunting on the job sometimes."

"If I had taken the time to stop, get out of the car, climb the fence, and then continue to chase him on foot the criminal may have gotten away!"

"Not again with that 'end justifies the means' crap. Do you know how much in damages caused by YOU this precinct has to pay a year? Not to mention how many trainees you scare off within the first few months of working with you."

Kotetsu sank down into his chair and pouted a bit before replying, "So you really don't think the Chief will let me off?"

Antonio stared dumbfounded at his friend for a bit before bursting out in raucous laughter. "You have GOT to be kidding me! Don't you even think about talking to the Chief right now. Just do as he says for a while and he'll eventually let you back out into the field," he advised.

Kotetsu smiled bashfully up at his friend and chuckled, "I guess you're right.. I'll be good and stick to the paperwork for now. But if I'm not off desk duty in a week, I'm not gonna be able to keep quiet about it anymore."

"Haha. Alright. I guess that's reasonable enough," Antonio quipped before pushing the front of Kotetsu's hat down over his eyes, "you about ready to get out of here? I'm starving."

'_Che_- Kotetsu pouted as he righted his hat on his head, "Just let me finish up this last bit and I'll be ready to go."

"Got'cha. I'll be waiting out front," Antonio said as he turned and waved over his shoulder.

It took about five minutes for Kotetsu to finish up the last of the forms. He pushed back in his chair, stretched his arms out behind him and yawned lazily before standing and walking over to the file room.

'Aww man, seriously? All the way up there?' he thought to himself when he located the proper shelf, 'better make it quick.' He spotted a stepladder off to the side of the room and used it to climb as high up as it would allow. "Damn. Can't quite reach-" he said aloud, stretching up onto the balls of his feet to reach up and roughly shove the folder into its place.

"Got it!" he exclaimed, cheerfully. "Now I've just gotta- W-whoa!" he cried as he lost his balance and tumbled backwards off of the ladder. He covered his face with his hands and mentally braced himself for the impending impact with the floor. To his surprise, instead of hitting solid ground, he fell into a comfortable, yielding warmth.

"You should be more careful, old man," came the voice of a man Kotetsu didn't recognize.

'OLD MAN?' Kotetsu fumed inwardly as he quickly withdrew his hands to glare up at his 'rescuer'. Heated brown eyes met mocking green, and the stranger was revealed to be a tall, younger man. He wore a strange biking helmet with long, pointed additions on either side. 'Kind of like bunny ears,' he thought. As he inspected the man further, he could see strands of blonde framing his face where visible. It was then he noticed that face was now smirking down at him.

Suddenly feeling self-conscious he finally came to his senses and became all too aware of his award position in the other man's arms and says, "Uh.. thanks for helping me out and all, but could you put me down?"

"Whatever you say," came the response and the taller man all but dumped him to the floor. "Try to be a little more careful~" he taunts as he nimbly saunters out the door.

Kotetsu sat on the floor speechless for a while, unable to sort through his mixed emotions. He knows he should be grateful to the stranger for bothering to help him, but he finds he's far too irritated to care.

"Che- Old man, he says," he muttered mirthlessly, picking himself up off the ground, "who was that bunny-boy anyway?"

Just as he made his way back out to his desk and began to gather his things to leave, he heard a door swing open and a voice call out from behind him, "Kaburagi. Before you leave for the day I want to see you in my office."

"O-okay, Chief," came Kotetsu's wary reply. 'What did I do this time? I've been stuck in the office for the past couple of days… I couldn't possibly be in any more trouble, could I? Man, today sucks,' he thought ruefully to himself as he ushered himself into Chief Maverick's office.

Kotetsu took his usual spot in the chair opposite the desk and asked, "You wanted to see me, sir?"

"I just wanted to check in and see how you're liking your desk job?" the Chief questioned with a sly smile.

Kotetsu did his best to keep his expression as friendly as possible and answered, "Oh it's not bad, sir. I guess it's always good to have a change of pace every once in a while."

"Oh? Is that so? Well since you seem to be adjusting to your current position, I'd feel bad taking you off so suddenly…"

Kotetsu's face lit up at the prospect of getting to do some real work. "I'll go wherever you need me to, sir!" he spat hurriedly, "D-did you want me back on my regular job?"

The older man chuckled at his enthusiasm and replied, "That's the plan for now. But don't for a second think that I've forgotten about the mess you made on your last case."

"I'm really sorry about all that… I just have a habit of acting first without thinking things through."

"It's because of those instincts that you've managed to make it as a detective for this long, Kaburagi," Maverick conceded, "but I do want you to learn some restraint. That's what I'm hoping your new partner can teach you. His name is Barnaby Brooks Jr. He's transferring into our district as of tomorrow, and I want you to show him the ropes."

"Not to sound ungrateful or anything, Chief, but do you really think it'd be good for me to work with another rookie?" Kotetsu questioned, knowing his poor track record with new partners.

"I don't think even you'll be able to scare this one away. He's smart, careful, and everything needed to balance you out. Hopefully working with Barnaby, will help you learn to curb that wild streak. You'll be meeting him first thing tomorrow morning. That's all I wanted you to know. Good work today."

"Got it, Chief. Thanks," he stated and made to leave the office. "Oh, but before I leave mind telling me what he looks like so I'll be able to recognize him?"

"Ah, that's right. I meant to show you this earlier. This is a picture of him from his file," the older man said as he passed a photo over the desk.

Kotetsu's eyes widened in shock the second the picture came into his sight. Those taunting green eyes stared up at him and it took everything in him not to make a sound. 'That BUNNY is my new partner?'


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer**: (Since I forgot to add one in the first chapter) I own nothing T&B. The only thing that's mine is the plot.

Unlikely Pair

'Chapter 2'

"Oi- Kotetsu. What's your deal tonight?" Antonio insisted, patting his crestfallen friend on the shoulder, "you've been all weird since we left the precinct. You can't honestly tell me doing paperwork is _that_ terrible."

Kotetsu visibly sighed as he continued to replay the previous afternoon's occurrences in his mind. He _fell_ into another man's arms. His new partner's arms of all things! And to top it all off he couldn't help hearing the teasing blonde's voice repeating over and over again,_ "Try to be more careful, old man."_

Finally looking up and noticing his friend's growing impatience he simply stated, "I just had a run in with my new partner is all."

"That's it? Well, what's wrong with him?"

_**He called me an old man. **_"According to the Chief, absolutely nothing," Kotetsu admitted truthfully.

Antonio blinked, "Well then what's the problem?"

_**He caught me in his arms like some sort of princess, and called me an old man! **_"He's just a little too flashy. He must be some spoiled rich boy or something. You know I don't do well with flashy."

"Kotetsu, I will literally keep you here all night until you-"

Kotetsu's eyebrow twitched when the prodding overwhelmed him and he exploded, "That little bunny caught me in his arms like a princess and called me an old man! There! Are you happy now?"

A wide grin stretched across Antonio's face before he opened his mouth and roared with laughter. "You- have got- to be _kidding_ me!"he gasped, "that is the single greatest thing I've ever heard!"

Kotetsu's frown deepened as he watched his best friend take pleasure in his humiliation. "It's not funny, jerk! That guy is already looking down on me!" he grumbled to himself.

He continued to chuckle to himself for a while more, but when he was able to calm himself, Antonio asked, "Just one more thing… 'Little bunny'?"

"He was wearing a motorcycle helmet. I wasn't lying when I said he was flashy! The thing has ears! He looked like a bunny," Kotetsu sighed, "you'll see him tomorrow."

"He starts working tomorrow?" Antonio asked, elated, "Oh man, I've never been this excited to get back to work!"

"Just shut up and take me home. Some friend you are," Kotetsu sulked.

"Don't worry about it so much. Once you start working together he'll see how good of a detective you are," Antonio patted his friend on the back and continued, "alright, lets get out of here."

The two paid their bill and went out to Antonio's car. They rode the distance to Kotetsu's apartment in silence: one too tired to speak, and the other knowing better not to push it. Upon arriving at Kotetsu's apartment building, he thanked Antonio and the two bade each other goodnight. He made his way up to his empty unit and immediately collapsed onto his bed and slept.

The next morning Kotetsu woke feeling surprisingly relaxed. He went about his usual morning routine and ate breakfast before heading downstairs to wait for Antonio. Since the two lived about a block away from each other, they often rode to and from work together.

He made it down to the lobby area and cheerfully greeted the desk clerk as usual and went out to the front to wait by the street. It only took about five minutes for Antonio to arrive. Kotetsu got in the passenger's seat, and the two set out for work.

"You seem better this morning," Antonio commented.

"I guess all the embarrassment went away after some sleep. Sorry about freaking out on you yesterday."

"Don't worry about it. I think any normal male would freak out a bit after being held in some other guy's arms," he teased, elbowing Kotetsu lightly.

Kotetsu just chuckled and scratched the back of his head. 'No use fighting it. Guess it'll be a while before I live that down,' he thought.

The two pulled into the parking lot ten minutes later and as they made to get out of the car, a bright red motorcycle rumbled into the lot and rode into the stall next to them.

Kotetsu took one look at the rider and recognized him immediately. All the anxiousness he thought he'd gotten over came back with a vengeance. He groaned inwardly and shot a pleading look to his friend that went completely unnoticed. The taller man was too busy admiring the bike.

"Kotetsu, do you know who that is? I've never seen that bike before," Antonio questioned loudly over the roar of the engine, eyes still fixed on the motorcycle.

Before Kotetsu could answer, the motorcycle quieted and the rider dismounted. In one smooth motion he removed his helmet and gracefully ran his fingers through his hair as it fell perfectly into place.

'The showy little-,' Kotetsu thought to himself as he felt his eye begin to twitch.

The blonde had no such effect on his friend, however. Antonio happily strode over to the man and said, "Hey, nice bike! I haven't seen you around before… You new?"

"Thanks a lot. It's very kind of you to say so. I put a lot of work into it," came the friendly reply, "and yes, today is my first day. Glad to meet you. I'm Barnaby."

"Good to meet you too. I'm Antonio, and that guy over there," he began, motioning to Kotetsu who hadn't moved from his position next to the car, "is Kotetsu."

The blonde looked off in the direction Antonio pointed and smiled when he saw Kotetsu's stunned face starting back at him. "We've met. Glad to see you looking unharmed," he said.

"Ah, yah. Thanks again for helping me out yesterday," Kotetsu said quietly as he moved to join the other two.

"Yesterday? I thought you said today was your first day?" Antonio asked, still not quite able to put two and two together.

"Oh, it is. I was just in filling out some papers and we ran into each other on my way out," Barnaby replied with a gentle smile, "it's actually a good thing we ran into each other this morning. The Chief said he wanted to see us in his office. He's probably wanting to do the introductions himself."

"Really? I hadn't heard, but thanks for letting me know. I'll be in in a minute, but you can go ahead," the bearded man offered. He was a bit thrown off by the difference in the man's attitude.

"Nonsense, I'll wait for you. We'll be partners from today on, won't we?" And with that the taunting gleam in Barnaby's eyes returned.

"Partner?" Antonio's eyes widened in realization, "this guy's your new partner? The one you said-"

Kotetsu quickly covered his friend's mouth and interjected, "That's right, this guy's my new partner. So why don't you go ahead and get to work and we'll head to our meeting, alright?" He pushed his friend towards the building and whispered, "I'll talk to you later."

Once he was sure Antonio was on his way, he turned back to Barnaby who was watching him with an amused look on his face.

"I see you told your friend about yesterday. Was it that memorable for you, old man?" he taunted.

'So I guess this side of you is reserved for me, huh? He was fine with Antonio…' Kotetsu thought, sadly, 'and what do you mean _Memorable? _More like_ mortifying.'_

Deciding against voicing any of his thoughts he sighed and said, "You ready to meet with the Chief?"

Barnaby snickered, "Sure. Lets get this over with."

The two walked in an uncomfortable silence to Maverick's office. The meeting went as Barnaby had predicted, the Chief hadn't expected the two to have already met and so he had wanted to introduce them properly. After a short briefing on a case they would be working on today, Barnaby was dismissed, but Kotetsu was asked to stay back for a bit.

Barnaby obediently left the room, and Kotetsu turned to his boss and said, "What did you want to see me about, Chief?"

"He's already started on your nerves hasn't he? I can see it when you look at him."

Kotetsu's shoulders slumped, upset someone else had noticed. He wasn't used to people taking such a dislike to him. "He doesn't like me very much, does he? He's nice enough to everyone else…" he managed.

"It's because you're his partner. Despite the way he looks, he hasn't had an easy life," the Chief explained, "his parents died when he was young and so he's not used to having someone around to rely on. He's been let down a lot, so don't expect him to be very trusting up front."

"Huh… I had no idea, "Kotetsu responded, surprised, "you seem to know a lot about him."

"I was friends with his parents and so I've known him since he was a boy. He's a good kid, Kotetsu. Just give him a chance to open up. Don't give up on him, alright?"

Kotetsu stared after his new partner, and felt guilty for having him pegged as some spoiled brat. "I've got it, Chief," he resolved, "I don't know how things will go from here, but I won't count him out just yet." With that, he waved goodbye and sprinted out to catch up with Barnaby.

"Glad to hear it, Kaburagi. I think the two of you could be even better for each other than even I could predict," Maverick said thankfully to himself, and smiled.

**A/N:** Thanks for sticking with me so far, guys! I'm sorry it's a little slow for now, but it'll be picking up pace in the next few chapters! Reviews are greatly appreciated, and thanks again for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

Unlikely Pair

'Chapter 3'

"You've just wasted a good 5 minutes of my life, old man," Barnaby said as he saw Kotetsu approaching, "but since you were with the Chief I have to let this one slide."

"Thanks, I guess," Kotetsu said as he jogged the rest of the way to his new partner's side, "we ready to go?"

Barnaby blinked, surprised at how well Kotetsu took his selfish outburst.

"Just waiting on you. The officer there is ready to take us to the scene of the robbery," Barnaby responded, "lets get going."

The two began walking out to the parked police car when Kotetsu called out, "Hold on a sec."

Barnaby turned to look at him, "What is it?"

"Look, I know we didn't exactly start out on the right foot, but we are partners. Just know that no matter what you may think of me, I'll always have your back 100%. You can trust me on that."

Barnaby was taken aback by the sincerity in those brown eyes. 'How can he say that stuff with a straight face? Doesn't matter… I've heard these promises before,' he thought.

"We'll see about that, old man."

The two got into the police care and rode 20 minutes to the scene of the robbery they would be investigating, and on the way were further briefed on the case. A restaurant owner had been noticing that every night for about a month they had been coming up _really_ short when balancing the books. Since it's such a small business, they have very little staff and so almost everyone has had an opportunity to have a hand in it. The owner had thought if he put enough pressure on his staff that someone would come clean. When that didn't happen, he finally did the math and realized he had already lost over $5000 and decided to report the crime.

Kotetsu felt pity for the man. "Can you imagine being betrayed by someone you work so closely with everyday?" he thought out loud.

"You've been a detective for how many years now? What rock have you been living under? This is the real world, old man. Everyone lies, and everyone is lied to."

Kotetsu's spirit sagged under the weight of his partner's coldness. He couldn't understand how someone could be so emotionless to the plight of another. In their line of work, everything is about people.

He straightened in his seat as they pulled up in front of the building and said, "You know, we're detectives. We're in the business of helping and protecting people. If you can't sympathize with another human even this much, then maybe you picked the wrong job."

Kotetsu opened the door and exited quickly without giving the Barnaby a chance to speak, and walked directly into the restaurant. Once his back was turned his face broke into a goofy grin. 'Heh~ Good going, Kotetsu!' he thought, mentally patting himself on the back, "that little bunny has a lot to learn.'

Barnaby stared after Kotetsu, surprised by his sudden lecture. He didn't want to let it show that Kotetsu's words had gotten to him, so he quickly gathered himself and followed. 'Well he's serious enough, I'll give him that much.'

The blonde joined his partner and they began interviewing all the employees individually. Kotetsu made it a point to listen in on Barnaby's interviews to see if he needed to step in and help, and was pleased to find the younger man was actually very good. His questions were quick and to the point, and he took very concise notes. After about an hour, they had finally gotten through everyone's stories and came together to discuss what they had found.

"All the stories I've heard were about the same. No one noticed anything strange, and no one knows of anyone with motive," came Kotetsu's recap.

"Same with those I talked to. Also, no one was ever left in the shop alone. When closing up, there is always one manager and at least one other employee in the store last and they leave at the same time. So it's probable that the theft is happening sometime during the day."

"Not bad, rookie. You do pretty well with your interviews," the older man praised, "I guess I'm lucky there isn't much to teach." He reached over to ruffle the younger man's hair, but Barnaby quickly sidestepped and gave a displeased stare.

"Of course. Anything you can do with your outdated techniques I can do even better with the training fresh in my mind. Do you mind if we save the small talk for later, old man? We're in the middle of a case."

'Sheesh. I was just trying to be friendly,' he pouted inwardly. "Alright, have it your way."

Barnaby nodded and continued, "There's got to be something we're missing. Someone is sneaking money out everyday… Do you think there's a backdoor someone could be using?"

Barnaby stood and peeked through the kitchen and did in fact notice a back door. He motioned to one of the employees sitting near by and asked, "What is that door used for?"

The woman looked over in the direction pointed out to her and said, "Oh, that door leads out into the back alley where the dumpster is. It's only ever used when the trash is taken out. There's a homeless man that lives out there, so we try to keep from bothering him."

The two detectives eyes met, and Kotetsu said, "You think maybe he saw something?"

"We might as well go find out."

The two opened the door to the alleyway and found the homeless man they had been expecting sitting near the dumpster, staring at the floor. He looked up at them when he heard the door open and looked almost surprised. He made no move to acknowledge them any further and looked back down at his feet.

Kotetsu approached the man first, flashed his badge, and asked, "Excuse me, sir. We're detectives here to investigate the robbery happening in this restaurant. Have you noticed anything or anyone unusual come out through this door?"

The man looked up again, but this time looked more nervous than surprised. His eyes darted between the two and finally answered, "Only trash comes out that door."

"Only trash, huh? Well has the trash for today already been brought out?"

The man's eyes widened and could only managed a nod. Kotetsu took his cue to move to the dumpster and inspect the trash bag on the top of the pile. He made to undo the knot at the top, but realized there was already a hole ripped into the side. He looked over at the man who was now staring up at him, watching his movements carefully.

It was Barnaby's turn to step forward and ask, "Did you take something out of this bag?"

The now squatting man's hand moved instinctively over a brown paper bag at his side. "T-the boy who brings out the rubbish leaves food for me sometimes! He left it for me so it's mine to take," the man defended.

'There's something rectangular in that bag,' Barnaby noted to himself. Noticing the other man's growing anger, Barnaby spoke calmly as he began moving closer, "Well that's nice of him. Hey, would you like me to take the container in that bag back inside and thank that boy for you?" He extended his arm to pick up the bag from the ground, not noticing the man had tensed and had begun to move.

Kotetsu saw a flash of silver and yelled, "Watch it, Bunny!" and swiftly reached out and grabbed the back of his partner's jacket and pulled backwards. The now angry homeless man had snatched up the bag and lunged at Barnaby with a knife he had pulled from his pocket. Thanks to Kotetsu's quick response Barnaby was pulled out of the way safely, but also had knocked them both to the ground allowing the suspect an opportunity to take off running down the ally.

'That old man he- he saved me,' Barnaby thought gratefully as he sat while his mind slowly caught up with all the sudden action. Kotetsu was on his feet again the next second and took off running after the enraged man. Barnaby called after him, "Old man! We have to call in for back up! The patrol officers can cut him off."

"There's no time! Call it in yourself! I'm going after this guy," Kotetsu shouted back. 'There's no way I'm letting him off after he attacked my partner.'

Kotetsu was quickly gaining on the frantic man and was soon within distance to take him down. The man looked back and with one last desperate move, swung his arm around towards Kotetsu in attempt to take a stab at him. Kotetsu, pumped full of adrenaline, evaded enough to only sustain a shallow cut on the arm, and in the same motion grabbed hold of the outstretched arm and tackled the man to the ground.

Kotetsu disarmed the man, and quickly handcuffed him causing the suspect's defiant energy to fade into defeated acceptance. He then reached into the man's pocket, took out the brown bag in question and found a stack of money tucked neatly inside a rectangular case. He stood, pulling the other man along while reading him his rights. He then turned to begin marching the man back to the restaurant when a police car pulled up along side them and Barnaby stepped out of the passenger-side door.

'Well he doesn't look too happy with me,' Kotetsu thought, observing the blank look on Bunny's face.

The blonde walked over to Kotetsu and without a word took hold of the perp's arm and ushered him into the back seat next to a boy Kotetsu remembered from the restaurant. "

"So that kid was the accomplice, huh?" he asked aloud.

Barnaby nodded. "It was easy to figure since he tried to take off running as soon as I re-entered the restaurant."

When Barnaby returned to his side, he continued, "Well I guess the rumors I've heard about you are true. Always running off and doing unnecessary things."

Kotetsu laughed uncomfortably and replied, "At least I didn't break anything this time!"

Barnaby sighed wearily. "Lets just get these two back to the precinct and call it a day," he said, motioning to a different car waiting to take them back to the office.

As Barnaby turned his back to walk over to the car, Kotetsu grabbed him by the shoulder and asked, "Hey, you alright? You didn't get hurt did you?"

Barnaby moved to face Kotetsu and joked, "I'm fine. Thanks to the surprising reaction time of some old man, I'm completely unharmed." His expression then turn serious and he added, "You should be more worried about yourself. What happened to your arm?"

"Oh this? Don't worry about it, it's just a scratch," Kotetsu commented offhandedly, "lets get going."

Barnaby watched as Kotetsu walked passed him and called out, "Hey old man! Thanks… for having my back."

It was Kotetsu's turn to be surprised, not expecting such an honest 'thank you'. He smiled over his shoulder and replied, "Anytime, Bunny."

A/N: Whew~ Writing cases is a lot harder than I thought… I hope it made enough sense _ It's a lot more difficult getting my ideas out of my head and onto the page than I thought it would be.


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